100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS • 231Groupthink can occur in organizations where teamwork is
either strong or weak. As with fragmentation, groupthink is self-
sustaining. The longer it lasts, the more entrenched and “normal”
it becomes. It can be very diffi cult to reverse.
Now we have explained the pitfalls, what are the solutions? A great
deal has been written about the rational, process-driven approach to
decision making, but the psychological aspects are also important,
and are only recently beginning to be understood:
-^ Be bold and don’t fear the consequences of decisions. We tend to
overestimate the consequences, good and bad, of our choices.
We also tend to discount our ability to make the right choice.
This results from “loss aversion”: the view that a loss will hurt
more than a gain will please. Remember, the worst-case scenario
might never occur, and, even if it does, people invariably have
the psychological resilience to cope.
-^ Trust your instincts and emotions. We have evolved to make good
decisions and manage their implementation. Sometimes, quick
decisions work best precisely because you have picked up on the
key pieces of information quickly and then responded. More time
can simply lead to information overload and other distractions.
-^ Be prepared to play devil’s advocate. Searching for fl aws and
failings will strengthen your decisions, and illuminate factors
affecting the decision and other issues, such as biases. This
means being aware of confi rmation bias and using it.
-^ Avoid irrelevancies. Irrelevant information distorts our
perception, as described in the anchoring trap. The solution is to
be ready to question the context of the information. What are you
basing your decision on, and is it really relevant?
-^ Reframe the decision. This will help you view the issues from a
new perspective.